A spring storm has caused heavy snow to blanket central Otago overnight, causing chaos across the region.
Residents in Queenstown, Frankton, Arrowtown and surrounding areas are all without power, which Aurora Power estimates should be back on around 12:30pm.
While the dumping will be good news for skifields towards the end of the season, the Remarkables, Coronet Peak, Cardrona and Treble Cone have all closed for the day to cope with the snow.
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In a post on Facebook, Cardrona skifield said it's had 35cm of snowfall on Monday.
The snowfall also caused chaos on the roads. Lindis Pass between Tarras and Omarama was forced to close but has since reopened.
The New Zealand Transport Agency has warned motorists to take extra care on the roads because of the weather.
Air New Zealand had to cancel flights in and out of Queenstown on Monday morning, while disruption to flights is likely to continue throughout the day, a spokesperson said.
The airline recommended travellers defer non-urgent travel and to check the airline's Arrival and Departure page for the latest information.
Broadcaster and Queenstown local Leanne Malcolm said she's lost power to her house and described the snow as "heavy and thick".
"It hasn't stopped," she said, adding that "quite a few people" will be affected by the significant dumping of snow because "it's going to sit heavy on the [power] lines".
"Yesterday we were basking on 20degC here wearing t-shirts and thinking it is great, and this is a real shock and will impact a lot of people."
Some schools have closed for the day, including Wakatipu High School in Frankton.
MetService issued a warning on Sunday night that heavy snow would blanket Central Otago, Southern Lakes, Southland and Fiordland.
"As expected, snow has started falling in Otago," the weather service tweeted Monday morning.
"They're saying this could carry on for some hours, maybe even till midnight," said Ms Malcolm.
"We're looking at some pretty serious issues today, particularly for livestock and for travellers."
Newshub.
